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NPR: Landmark Report Concludes Abortion In U.S. Is Safe

A comprehensive report was published Friday stating what we already know -- abortion care is safe. The report included all four types of abortion methods used in the United States and confirmed all types of abortion care are safe for patients. It also delved into the restrictions each state has on abortion care and how the more restrictive a state's abortion guidelines are, the more risks associated.

Abortions in the United States are safe and have few complications, according to a landmark new study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

The report, called "The Safety and Quality of Abortion Care in the United States," examined the four major methods used for abortions — medication, aspiration, dilation and evacuation, and induction — and examined women's care from before they had the procedure through their follow-up care.

"I would say the main takeaway is that abortions that are provided in the United States are safe and effective," says Ned Calonge, the co-chair of the committee that wrote the study. He is an associate professor of family medicine and epidemiology at the University of Colorado and CEO of The Colorado Trust.

Calonge says the researchers found that about 90 percent of all abortions happen in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. And complications for all abortions are "rare," the report says.

But the report did find that state laws and regulations can interfere with safe abortions.

"Abortion-specific regulations in many states create barriers to safe and effective care," the report says.